President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ensuring that the dividends of democracy are equitably distributed across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), including its satellite towns and surrounding communities.
Speaking on Thursday during the commissioning of the Kuje-Airport Expressway in Abuja, the President, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said the government would continue to pursue balanced infrastructural and socio-economic development across the nation’s capital.
He described the airport corridor as more than just a road, calling it “the handshake of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” and stressed the importance of creating a positive first impression for visitors arriving in the country.
President Tinubu said his administration would continue to invest in roads, safer corridors, improved drainage systems, cleaner surroundings, brighter streets, and modern facilities that reflect the status of Abuja as the capital of Africa’s largest democracy.
“We shall not rest until the airport and its neighbouring communities become models of order, hospitality and opportunity. We shall not rest until the dividends of democracy are equitably distributed across the territory,” he said.
The President also emphasized the need to improve living conditions in communities around the airport, noting that they are home to workers, traders, farmers, civil servants, students and entrepreneurs whose lives should reflect the promise of the capital city.
Commending the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for delivering the project, Tinubu said the minister had demonstrated that leadership is measured by completed projects rather than unfulfilled promises.
Earlier, Wike said the completion of the Kuje-Airport Expressway had restored hope to residents and would enhance economic activities, improve connectivity and increase property values in the area.
According to the minister, the road project was one of the major requests made by stakeholders during consultations held across the six area councils shortly after the current FCT Administration assumed office.
Also speaking, Minister of State for the FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmud, described the ongoing infrastructure projects across the territory as a clear demonstration of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Administration (FCDA), Engr Richard Yunana Dauda, said the project, awarded in 2022, was designed to connect major roads within the FCT and provide links to neighbouring Nasarawa State. He added that the project includes drainage systems and bridges to improve connectivity and provide alternative access routes to Gwagwalada and other parts of the territory.
Several government officials, lawmakers, presidential aides and senior FCT Administration officials attended the commissioning ceremony.
